Advise sought on new bike to purchase

[Jolt]

Some good suggestions above…Muirenn beat me to it as far as recommending Surly. Just be aware if you see yourself wanting to go on faster group rides that they are heavier bikes and you may find yourself having a harder time keeping up with those on the light road bikes that are usually brought on those kinds of rides (that said, this also depends on the "engine" so to speak and I know mine is NOT made for speed, so YMMV). Some other possibilities might be: Bianchi Volpe, Jamis Aurora/Bosanova/Quest/Ventura (the last two are more pure road bikes, so if you wanted to do a multi-day trip you would either need to pack light or use a trailer), Masi CX (if you're taller…toe overlap is horrible on the smaller sizes).